FirstMBChurch Intentional Families: Celebrating Lent & Easter

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1 FirstMBChurch Intentional Families: Celebrating Lent & Easter Lent is the 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter. These Scripture readings, fun activities, discussion points and hymns to read or sing will help your family focus on the most pivotal Christian truth: Christ died and rose to save us from sin! Pick out one or two or three of the ideas that follow to do with your family. Recipes, crafts, books and videos are listed at the end. Books and resources can be checked out or purchased at HomePointe Center in the church lobby. Devotional Aids Make a Jesus Tree During the Advent season, families usually make a Jesse tree with symbols representing stories throughout the Old Testament that led up to the birth of Christ Jesus. For Easter/Lent celebration, why not make a Jesus Tree with images or symbols from the life and death of Christ. Find ideas to make your own Jesus Tree or buy a compete kit. Devotional readings go along with. Encourage a Heart for World Prayer Lent is a season of focused preparation and great opportunity to focus on praying for the world around us. Traditionally, the first Friday in Lent is celebrated as a World Day of Prayer. Choose a continent to focus on during each week leading up to Easter. Have a Foot Washing for Your Family Discuss how Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and commanded them to love one another (John 13:34-35). Read an Easter Related Book (See recommendations at the end of this article)

2 Resurrection Eggs Use these as a cute visual and select Scripture passages for meaningful discussion on Easter. Hide them and have kids find them and open one by one as you retell the story. Paint Your Doorpost for Passover Allow your kids to paint red paint on the (paper covered) doorpost to a particular room or the front door of your home to represent the Passover. Read Exodus 12:1-42. Explain Christ s death as the ultimate sacrifice for sin and discuss the significance of God giving up His firstborn Son. Listen to Handel s Messiah Collect purple things from around your home Discuss how purple is the color of Lent. Purple symbolizes the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It is also the color of royalty and symbolizes the kingship of Jesus in our lives. Wear something purple for the day. Watch The Passion or Animated Passion as appropriate for your family Giving up something Lent is traditionally a season for giving up as a symbolic, outward act of identifying with Christ s suffering. Your child(ren) may want to choose something to sacrifice for 40 days of Lent: trips to McDonald s, afterschool TV, chocolate. Money saved could be donated to a favorite mission or charity. Read about the Passover Read or summarize Exodus 12:1-42 to give an older child(ren) a context of the Passover celebration that Jesus observed the last week before his death. Explain Christ s death as the ultimate sacrifice for sin and discuss the significance of God giving up His firstborn Son. II Corinthians 5:17 Look up II Corinthians 5:17. As a symbol of a new creation, make butterflies using a large piece of wrapping tissue scrunched and secured in the middle with a clothespin. What does resurrection mean? Define resurrection for your kids. Have an older child undertake a Bible hunt to identify people who died and were raised to life. In every case, who did the resurrecting? Sing How Great Thou Art : And when I think: that God his Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died, to take away my sing. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

3 How great thou art, how great thou art, Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee How great thou art, how great thou art Act out the parade of Palm Sunday as a family Take turns being the donkey, Jesus, and the part of the crowd. Hosanna means Save us, we beseech thee. Read Matthew 26:1-16, Talk about your child s experiences of betrayal or disappointment in friendships. Imagine Jesus personal hurt at Judas treachery and the subsequent desertion of Christ s closet allies. Define atonement Help your kids understand the ideas of making amends or repaying a debt that is owed. Recite together these lines from Man of Sorrows : Man of sorrows! What a name for the Son of God, who came ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah, what a Savior! Read Isaiah 53:2-8 Depending on the maturity and readiness of your child, describe Jesus sufferings on the cross. Alleluia Explain the word alleluia, which comes from a Greek translation of a Hebrew phrase meaning Praise the Lord, a call to worship. What does repentance mean? Explain repentance in terms of understanding God s holiness and seeing yourself through His eyes. Emphasize God s loving desire to redeem sinners. Observe Maundy Thursday Prepare to observe Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from a root word meaning mandate or command. Look up John 13:34-35 to discover the new commandment Jesus gives. Our church will have services Wednesday and Thursday. Attend a family friendly church service on Wednesday and Thursday night of Holy Week to help observe Maundy Thursday. Garden of Gethsemane Discuss Jesus experiences in the garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26: Then read his prayer for all believers, including your family, in John 17:20-26.

4 Good Friday is God s Friday The name Good Friday probably evolved from the phrase God s Friday. Talk about why the day Christ died is ultimately very good, the best, because we all need a Savior. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Practice the traditional Easter greeting: Christ is risen! and then reply: He is risen indeed! Food Make Pretzels Pretzels were a common fasting food among early Christians, and they were traditionally made of flour, water and salt. The shape of the simple food signifies the arms crossed in prayer. Share your pretzels with a neighbor or family you are seeking to reach out to. Make Hot Cross Buns Hot cross buns are also traditional Lenten bread. Make some with your children while explaining how they are important in the celebration of Lent. The buns may have originated in the 12 th century, and the frosting is applied as a cross. Younger children can make simple, bread-shaped crosses to give to grandparents, friends and other family members. Make Easter Story Cookies Bake something for a shut-in or needy family Crafts Make a Stained Glass Cross Make a Salt Dough Crown of Thorns Make a He Is Risen or Our Redeemer Lives poster and hang it in a prominent place in your home Help your children understand that Jesus was called The Lamb of God (John 1:29; I Cor. 5:7-8). Make a lamb craft project with your kids by gluing cotton balls to a paper plate, then add pink and black construction paper eyes, ears, muzzle, nose and hooves. Make palm leaf crosses Dye Easter eggs and discuss the new life that has been a symbol of spring since ancient times. Discuss the new life that we experience in Christ.

5 Make a sand craft Sand is a Lent symbol of how God led the Israelites in their journey in the desert and how Jesus faced temptations for 40 days in the desert. Paint a Spring Mural Put up a wall-sized piece of paper, tape newspaper to the floor, dress your child(ren) in old clothes and get out the paints! Even if it s not greening up outside, you can start springtime indoors. Make a Jesus is Risen tomb craft Discuss the significance of Christ s resurrection. Activities Start a Garden Start a garden indoors to help your children understand the death and rebirth of Christ. Plant little lettuce seeds or whatever seeds you desire. Explain how the planting symbolizes the death of Jesus and how the sprouting seed symbolizes His rebirth. When Easter arrives, transplant your seedlings to your yard. Take a Nature Walk and collect items that remind you of the life of Jesus Two sticks could be used to form a cross, a stone could represent the stone across the tomb, a thorn could represent the crown on Jesus head, an acorn shell to represent the cup at the Last Supper, a long branch to represent a whip, etc. You could also make this a scavenger hunt for these items, especially for the little ones. Buy an Easter Lily for your home The Lily symbolizes new life because something so strikingly fragrant and beautiful grows from a lifeless-looking bulb. Visit a farm or zoo The old word Lenten means spring time : a season of new life. Visit a farm or petting zoo and look for newborns: piglets, bunnies, lambs or chicks. Eat Lunch Outdoors In Greece, Christians celebrate Easter with a festive outdoor banquet. On the first warmenough day, eat lunch together outdoors. Clean House Jewish families typically cleaned before the Passover celebration.

6 Resources for Celebrating Lent and Easter Jesse Tree Kit with Devotional can be purchased at for $ Resurrection Eggs can be purchased at Family Christian or Perfect Peace stores for $ Checkout or purchase at HomePointe Center: The Animated Passion film A Family Journey with Jesus Through Lent: Devotions and Activities for Each Day The Very First Easter The Tale of Three Trees Benjamin s Box The Legend of the Easter Egg The Week that Led to Easter The Story of Easter The Story of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross for Children The Final Week of Jesus Recipes Pretzels Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle them with coarse salt. In a large bowl, dissolve 1 packet dry yeast in 2 tablespoons warm water. Add 1 1/3 cup warm water and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Work in 5 cups flour and knead to a smooth ball. Continue kneading 10 minutes. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces. Roll each into a 14 inch strand and twist into a pretzel shape. Heat oven to 475*F Fill a large skillet with water, adding 1 tablespoon baking soda for each cup water. Bring to a simmer. With a spatula, lower a pretzel into the simmering water; cook 30 seconds. Transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with each pretzel. Bake 8 minutes until golden. Easter Cookies To be made the evening before Easter You will need: 1 cup whole pecans 1 teaspoon vinegar

7 3 egg whites pinch salt 1 cup sugar zipper baggie wooden spoon duct tape Bible Preheat oven to 300*F Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19: 1-3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into the mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30 Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10: Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23: 27 So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa. 1: 18 and John 3: 1-3. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheets. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27: Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27: GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16: 20 and 22. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter morning, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9 Hot Cross Buns Ingredients 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm 2% milk (110 to 115 degrees F)

8 1 tablespoon butter, softened 1 egg 4 teaspoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons raisins 2 tablespoons dried currants 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 dash ground allspice 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon water ICING: 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon 2% milk In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. Stir in butter, egg, sugar and salt. Combine 3/4 cup flour, raisins, currants, cinnamon and allspice; add to the yeast mixture and mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; shape into six 2-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Beat egg yolk and water; brush over buns. Bake at 375 degrees F for minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Combine icing ingredients; pipe over buns. Salt Dough Recipe Follow the instructions below to make a salt dough crown of thorns with your children, anticipating Lenten sacrifices your family hopes to make. Place the crown in a prominent place in your home; it makes an excellent centerpiece for your dining room table, and placing it upon a royal purple cloth has a striking effect. For each Lenten sacrifice a family member makes, he or she pulls a toothpick out of the crown. This activity makes a great visual reminder of Christ s suffering: Parents can explain to their children that sin brings additional pain to Jesus suffering and good works can comfort Him and show our love for Him. The goal should be to remove all thorns from the crown by Easter. Once all the thorns have been removed, you can paint the crown gold or otherwise decorate it with colorful craft jewels,

9 beads, or flowers where the thorns once were as a sign of the triumph of our risen King. This makes a beautiful Easter Sunday centerpiece with a great story to share with your guests. If your family does not participate in Lenten sacrifices, this can still be a great visual reminder of Christ s suffering. Read Matthew 27: You will need: 4 c. flour 1 c. salt Water Toothpicks Mix flour and salt. Mix enough water to make a stiff clay. (A little warmth helps dissolve the salt.) Knead until smooth to remove any air bubbles. Roll three long ropes and loosely braid them. Form braid into a circle and stick toothpicks loosely throughout the entire crown (If they are embedded too deeply they cannot be pulled out intact.) Bake at 350 F for an hour or until it is dry and light brown. Crafts Easter Jesus Tree Use a tree branch potted in plaster of paris and sprayed white to hang Easter ornaments on. Whatever framework you use for the Jesse Tree could be used as well. Start twelve days before Easter. There is a Scripture reading that precedes the hanging of the ornaments for that day. Ornaments show the flowing images, but you could also use the actual items listed. Small palm trees or small branches (Reading: Matthew 21:1-11) Small perfume sample bottles (Reading: John 12:2-8) Bread made from salt dough and small chalices (Reading: Matthew 26:17-19) 30 silver coins (Reading: Matthew 27:3) Small wooden cross (Reading: John 19:7) Small crown of thorns (Reading John 19:2) Patches of burlap (Reading John 19:23) 3 nails (Reading: John 19:18, 37; John 20:25-29) Small pieces of natural sponge (Reading: Matthew 27:34) Small balls of cinnamon dough (Reading: John 19:40) Small round stone (Reading: John 20:1) Strips of white linen (Reading: John 20:6-7) Stained Glass Cross Craft Use this as a craft you can hang in your window or make it as a card for a special friend. There is an option at the bottom for younger kids, instead of melting crayons. Materials:

10 waxed paper wax crayons (Crayola don't work as well as the cheap kind for this project, though they do still work) manual pencil sharpener (with a fairly large hole) iron, ironing board and scrap paper (white computer paper or brown paper bag) construction paper scissors glue stick Directions: ADULT: Plug in the iron and cover the ironing board with scrap paper. Set the iron to medium (no steam). tear a piece of waxed paper that's square (or a bit longer than it is wide) and fold it in half. Then unfold. take the paper off some crayons and 'sharpen' them in the pencil sharpener. Let the shavings drop onto 1/2 the waxed paper. Feel free to use 3 or 4 different colors. when you have a nice pile of shavings refold the waxed paper. Fold about 1/2 inch around all the edges so none of the wax leaks out when you iron. This is a photo of us doing a heart, but the process is the same place the waxed paper containing the shavings down on the ironing board and cover with more scrap paper. Iron for about 10 seconds. Peek and iron a bit more if necessary. All the wax should melt. The longer you iron, the more your colors will mix. Let sit about 30 seconds to cool. Take a piece of construction paper and fold in half. Crease well Fold in half again, but this time, don't crease it very much (the less you crease it the better, but young children may need it creased quite well) Cut out a half cross shape. You can do this freehand or draw it on for small children to cut out.

11 Unfold the construction paper and you'll find a 'card' type shape with a heart through the middle of it. Put your waxed paper ("stained glass") into the middle and figure out where you're going to position it. With a pen trace around a line for where you'll want to trim the waxed paper. The pen won't make a pen mark, but it will leave a white line on the paper. Cut out the waxed paper. Try not to fold it -- the wax will crack if you do. Open up the construction paper. Use a glue stick to trace around the heart shape on one side of the construction paper Glue the waxed paper down. Trace around the other heart (on the other side of the construction paper) and around the edges of the construction paper and fold down so the waxed paper is sandwiched. This is a photo of us doing a heart, but the process is the same Optional: Have the kids color a picture with crayons. They can color dark or light - it doesn't matter but the darker sometimes looks better. They really do look like stained glass pictures, especially if the picture had heavy black lines. Use crayons, NOT markers or colored pencils. Have a few bowls with a VERY small amount of cooking oil and a couple of cotton balls in them. Have the kids flip the pages over and slowly and thoroughly rub the cotton balls on the paper. (You'll see the paper turn transparent and the colors come through). Put them aside to dry (usually doesn't take long)! Cut them out and either hang them as is with a hole punched in them or framed. Optional: To make it more suitable for younger kids. Instead of using wax paper and melting crayons... Use clear Contact Paper and tissue paper pieces. Put Contact Paper piece sticky side up on the table (may need to tape it down). Let kids stick tissue paper pieces to the sticky paper Cover with another piece of Contact Paper sandwiching the tissue in between. Frame with dark construction paper (with cross shape removed) as directed.

12 Palm Frond Cross On the Sunday before Easter, many Christians celebrate Palm Sunday. Recalling the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, churches distribute palm leaves in remembrance of people who waved them and carpeted his path with them. One of the things you can do with these palm leaves is to fold them into crosses. These are great to give out as little gifts or hide as secret presents! For directions please visit: Jesus is Risen Tomb Craft You will need: A sheet of thick paper/card stapler 1 large paper plate 1 small paper plate Black construction paper Yellow construction paper Brad (paper fastener) Felt tip markers Glue Before you start, cut one third off the bottom of the large plate. Color each plate brown. Staple the large plate onto the thick paper. Ensure that the part you cut is lined up with the bottom of the paper. Cut an opening for the tomb from the black construction paper. Fix it to the plate with glue. Cut a square from the white paper. Using a marker, write Jesus Is Risen! on it and then attach it to the tomb opening with glue. Fix the small plate (Which represents the stone in front of the tomb) to the paper by passing the brad through both pieces. Finish this craft by adding the sun, spring-time flowers, birds and clouds. Easter Banner, Felt Bible Story Banner $8.25 Celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a great joy, but it is often difficult to find ways to communicate the great joy of Easter to our children. This Easter Banner, which functions much like an Advent Calendar, will help you share about the events of Holy Week with the young children in your home. To purchase this banner please visit: